


Last Goodbyes

by imaducky



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Rumbelle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 17:24:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1656473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaducky/pseuds/imaducky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumplestiltskin was held captive in Neverland by one notorious Peter Pan. Back in Storybrooke, Belle found a way to communicate across realms. Would she be able to save her one true love or would they bid each other their last goodbyes?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Last Goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

> Something me and my cousin, Mikaela (trinogometry on tumblr), wrote for her class project.  
> I wrote about 3/4 of this. She takes the whole credit. Ah yes, family love.  
> Originally posted on October 13, 2013 @ FanFiction

After casting the protective spell and making sure Storybrooke is safe once again, Belle walked through town without a destination. She let her feet lead the way while she allowed herself to be lost in her own thoughts. She felt numb. All her feelings—sadness, anxiety, hopefulness and longing—were so overwhelming and they were already starting to take a toll on her.

It had only been three hours since the gang aboard the Jolly Roger left for Neverland and she was already missing Rumple. She felt incomplete without him. She wanted to be on that ship. She wanted to help save Henry.  _She wanted to be with him._

She didn't notice the stray tear that fell from her eyes and she quickly wiped it away. When she looked up, she found herself in front of the pink house that she knew so well. She made her way to the front door and opened it. The creaking of the door filled a faint sound in the room then there was silence. She sighed.  _You need to be strong, Belle. He's doing the right thing. You need to be strong for all the people who were left behind._

She made her way to the kitchen to make herself a nice cup of hot tea. As she entered the kitchen, on top of the dining table was her chipped cup— _their_ chipped cup—with a rolled note placed inside of it. She stumbled forward and reached for the note. She opened it with trembling hands and found it scrawled in a familiar handwriting.

_I love you. Goodbye._

With just four words, her resolve shattered. Her tears fell freely now from her eyes. She clutched the note so hard. Her knuckles turned white. She just had him back and now he was taken away from her _again_. This was all so unfair.  _How dare him think that he would never come back!? The selfish bastard!_

"I'll get you back, Rumple. True love always finds a way.  _I_ will find a way."

As she placed the letter safely in her pocket, dark array of cloud-like smoke suddenly appeared from inside the cup. When the smoke dissipated, she peeked closely and saw a reflection. She saw a woman with blood-shot eyes and trembling lips, a vision of a woman who lost everything. She was staring at her reflection. It was distorted and in a matter of seconds, she found herself being dragged into the cup.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin didn't have the slightest idea when or how he was going to die. All he knew from what the seer told him was that he was indeed going to  _die._ The prophecy said that the boy, Henry, would be his undoing and this was probably it. He was trying to magic his way out of the bonds that tied him to the tree but he couldn't. Greg and Tamara, those two idiots, stripped his powers from him making him vulnerable and weak.

He let his eyes observe his surroundings. There wasn't much to see but towering dead trees—the kind that hunts your dreams. Their shadows cast by the moon's pale glow looked as if they were alive, like a predator waiting for its prey to fall into its trap before devouring it into eternal pain and darkness.  _  
_

"Hello, Rumplestiltskin."

He didn't have to look to see who it was. He knew that voice anywhere. Even if he wanted to, he didn't think he could. He was so beaten up that a slight movement would absolutely make his body collapse. Blood covered the side of his face and he might have had a couple of broken ribs. His breathing was shallow but he liked it, the pain. Could you blame him? Three centuries of immortality, you would miss being able to feel something,  _anything._  

"How have you been, Peter Pan?" Rumple choked out.

Peter Pan, the leader of the lost boys and the most feared being in Neverland, answered with a smirk, "Oh swell! I wouldn't say the same about you though. But look at you, all grown up." He practically spat the word 'grown'.

"And you look the same."

"Oh, Rumple. I had always been fond of you when you were just a wee boy. Or do you prefer I call you by your real name— _Adam?"_

Rumple tried his best to look up at Pan, "How did y—"

"How did I know? Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" Pan gave him a satisfied grin, "You are the grandson of my sworn enemy."

"You knew my grandfather?"

"He didn't tell you?" Pan asked, his forehead creased obviously upset by this revelation. He moved over to the huge rock a few feet in front of Rumplestiltskin and sat down, "Well, that is a bit disappointing, wouldn't you say?"

"Tell me what?" Rumple demanded.

Pan narrowed his eyes at him, clearly weighing if he should tell him the tale of what happened between the two families, "Your family and mine go way back, Rumple. Your grandfather and I, we were best mates. Once upon a time. Until we fell in love with the same woman. We swore, he  _swore_ , that neither of us would pursue the lovely lady. He made me believe that our friendship meant more to him than anything. I believed him. How silly of me to have believed him!"

Rumplestiltskin had a brief idea of where this story might be headed but he wanted to know more, "Then what happened?"

Pan stood up and slowly walked over to where he was as he continued his tale, "One day, he showed me a mirror saying it was a present from a very powerful sorcerer. He said the sorcerer told him that the mirror  _shows nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of hearts._ I stood in front of it and I guess you've already figured out what the reflection showed."

"Lily." Rumple said, more to himself.

"Clever man!" Pan let out a laugh as he now stood in front of his captive, "But what I didn't know was that James was trying to get rid of me so that he could have Lily all to himself." 

Rumplestiltskin could see the hatred and anger in his dark eyes. Pan pulled out a knife from his sash and slowly buried the tip into his captive's chest. Anguished cries echoed through the whole forest. When the knife was halfway buried, he quickly pulled it out. Blood dripped from his fresh wound.

"Always so weak." Pan spat, "Felix, bring out the mirror!"

Felix, Pan's most loyal lost boy, came into view and placed a full-length mirror in front of them. It almost looked like a Victorian window. It has a gold frame and there were dust hiding in its crevices. It looked ancient. But what really caught Rumplestiltskin's attention was the line engraved over the arch of the frame. He didn't understand it. It was written in a language he had never encountered before.

Pan gestured Felix out, "I didn't know how she did it, really. She must be pretty clever and perhaps  _determined_ to have figured out how to communicate across realms. Beautiful and intelligent? I would say you hit the jackpot here, Rumple." Pan winked at him.

Rumple was confused, "What?"

Pan tilted his head towards the mirror. Rumple followed and he felt his heart dropped.

"Belle." He said barely a whisper.

Rumple didn't know how long it had been since the last time he saw her. Maybe three, four weeks? He lost count.  _Belle._ His beautiful, brave Belle with her brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. Just like he remembered her. The only difference was that the Belle in the mirror was wearing the look of sadness and  _longing._  The vibrant glow his Belle usually had was nowhere to be seen. She had her hands over her mouth and Rumplestiltskin watched her face turned from sad to mystified. He forgot what happened after that as the reflection gave a shrill, bone-wracking cry.

"No! Please, don't hurt her. It's me you want, right? I'm here, take me!" Rumplestiltskin pleaded, not minding the pain on his chest.

Pan stood in front of the mirror, blocking Rumple's view of Belle. He slowly traced her tear-stricken reflection, "Such beauty. Why didn't you bring her here, Rumple? We'll have tons of fun!" He laughed and turned back to Rumple, "Do you want to see her? You know, bid final farewells?"

Rumple tugged at the ropes that bound him to the tree.  _I left her in Storybrooke to protect her. Why can't she just let me protect her?_ Tears threaten to fall from his eyes but he resisted. He must not let his enemy see his weakness. He felt so helpless. He tugged at the ropes again but it was no use. 

Pan laughed at his attempts to break free, "Oh, stop it, Rumple. You're not going anywhere. You don't want to use up all your energy with your petty attempts at escaping. You should save it for your reunion with you _one twu wuv._ " He said mocking him in his Dark One voice. His captor then reached into the mirror and grabbed hold of Belle's arm pulling her out of the mirror.

"No! Don't! Please!" Rumple shouted, coughing out blood. But it was too late. His Belle was already out of the mirror portal and at arms length in front of him.

Belle tried to wriggle herself out of Pan's grasp but he had a tight grip, "Let me go!"

"I'm going to give you time to say goodbye to your boyfriend, okay?"

Pan pushed her down to the forest floor. She stood and closed the short distance between her and Rumplestiltskin, practically crushing him in a tight hug. 

"Oh sweetheart, I missed you!" She said as she sobbed. She placed a hand at the side of his face, urging him to look at her. She kissed him, not caring how his blood soaked her clothes and her hands. 

"Wh—why, Belle? Why did you tried to find me?"

"Because I wanted to be with you! I'm going to get you out of here, okay? Just stay with me."

"You shouldn't be here." He choked out.

"That's selfish, you know that? You promised me forever and I am holding you to it. You are in so much trouble once we get back home, Mister!"

She said it with all seriousness and utter determination and it took everything he had to give her a smile, "Oh, Belle. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Belle kissed him again, "Shhh... It's okay, sweetheart. I will get us out of here, I promise. Stay with me, okay?"

"Oh, highly doubt that love." Pan said with a smirk, "Now, I hate to break this lovely reunion of yours but I'm on the clock so—" He pushed her away and buried his hand through Rumple's chest.

"No!" Belle screamed through tears.

Pan pulled his heart and said, "Will you look at that? It isn't as black as I expected it to be."

Rumplestiltskin may have done a lot of irredeemable things in the past that should make his heart turn as black as coal. But he had Belle, _his brief flicker of light amidst the ocean of darkness_.

"No, please! Please..." Belle pleaded as tears began to fall from her eyes. She looked at Rumple. He stared back at her and mouthed the words  _I love you._

**Author's Note:**

> Has anybody guessed the other fandom I hinted in the story? :3


End file.
